This plea agreement is very important to me, because it allows me to accept full responsibility for my actions and at the same time remain true to my strongly held beliefs.

I hope that you will see that my actions were not those of terrorist but of a concerned young person who was deeply troubled by the destruction of Oregon's beautiful old-growth forests and the dangers of genetically modified trees.
After taking part in these two actions, I realized that burning things down did not fit with my visions or belief about how to create a better world. So I stopped committing these crimes.

This last year has been a very trying time for my family and I would like to extend my deepest love, admiration and appreciation to them for standing by me through a very difficult time. I would also like to apologize to the workers of the companies I targeted. I never intended to hurt people, so when I read about things like family photos being destroyed, I felt great remorse. I am truly sorry for the harm that I caused.

Your Honor, after May of 2001, I put myself back on the path of open and positive activism. Since then I have focused on helping victims of domestic violence, campaigning for the environment, and advocating for prisoners. While my commitment to pursuing a better world has not and will not change, I have changed the way I am pursuing those goals. My agreement with Mr. Paul, Mr. Block and Ms. Zacher to come together and resolve this case by taking responsibility for what we did is an important step in moving forward to have what I hope will be a positive impact on my community. Thank you for allowing me a few moments to speak to you this morning.

Daniel McGowan today entered pleas of guilty in connection with two arsons in 2001 - one at Superior Lumber in Glendale and one at Jefferson Poplar in Clatskanie.

Mr. McGowan accepts full responsibility for what he did. As Mr. McGowan told Judge Aiken, after taking part in these two arsons, he realized that they did not fit with his vision or beliefs about how to create a better world. He abandoned that course.

In entering a plea agreement with the government, Mr. McGowan did not abandon his deeply held beliefs. One of his conditions was that he would not try to get a reduced sentence by implicating or identifying other people the government may seek to prosecute, either now or later. In a meeting this week with the government, Mr. McGowan gave a truthful and honest account of what he did. He did not identify or implicate any other individual. He and the other three defendants who pled guilty today helped the government close this case by coming forward together, to take responsibility. The government agrees that by doing this, Mr. McGowan and the other defendants are all eligible for a reduced sentence.

All of this is set forth in Mr. McGowan's plea agreement. The entire agreement is in the record and available to the public.

Since 2001, Mr. McGowan has focused on positive, constructive, and practical activism. He works to prevent domestic violence and to assist victims. He organizes markets in which every good and service is free to all. He works as an advocate for prisoners and encourages others to support them with letters, books and money for food and phone calls. He studies acupuncture and plans to earn a Master's degrees so he can provide alternative medicine services to needy patients.

Mr. McGowan would like to apologize to the people he harmed or could have harmed the people whose family photos were destroyed in the fires, the firefighters who responded to the scene, to workers whose lives were disrupted. Harming people is never what Daniel intended, and he is deeply sorry.